The present invention relates generally to field of remote support for computer systems. More specifically, the present invention is directed to a method and an apparatus for updating software in a plurality of computer systems.
Personal computers have become an important part of the information age. The use of the personal computers has expanded beyond the traditional university campus and large office environments. Today, many small businesses and residences have at least one personal computer running a wide range of applications sold by many different software vendors.
As the applications become easier to use, the personal computers are no longer considered the tool for only the technical users. The user community has expanded and the personal computers are being viewed more as the tools to run the applications. Most users are interested in dealing with the applications and usually have no clue when something goes wrong with their personal computers. When the user is unable to use the application on the user""s personal computer, the usual action is to take the personal computer to a local personal computer repair shop.
Since there are many different brands of personal computers such as, for example, IBM, Compaq, Gateway, Dell, etc., it is usually the case that each personal computer from a different brand may have a different set up. For example, the IBM personal computer may use a different video adapter from the Dell personal computer, among others. As such, to have a problem corrected, the user usually has to bring the personal computer into the repair shop so that the technician can isolate the problem.
One of the most common problems of application failure is incompatibility. The incompatibility may be related to the hardware or to the other applications in the same personal computer system. For example, the user may have installed a new application that is incompatible with the existing application when running together. The user may have installed a new hardware adapter that is incompatible with the existing application without installing a necessary update. Often the identification of the incompatibility occurs at a most unfortunate time such as, for example, prior to the user having an opportunity to save the work in progress. This experience is frustrating, time consuming and can be costly for the user.
A method for remotely updating software in a plurality of computer systems is disclosed. In one embodiment, a request for an upgrade is sent to a server system connected in a network. The upgrade is for a software application installed in a client system connected in the network. The request is sent from the client system. The request comprises a unique identification associated with the client system. The unique identification is recognized by the server system as belonging to the client system. At least one instruction is received from the server system in response to the request for the upgrade. The server system has knowledge of the software application installed on the client system. The at least one instruction directs the client system to collect application information about the software application installed on the client system. The server system has no knowledge whether most-updated upgrade packages available for the software application have been installed on the client system. The application information about the software application is sent to the server system. The server system performs a comparison between the application information about the software application and the most-updated upgrade package for the software application. The most-updated upgrade package for the software application is stored in a part database. The most-updated upgrade package for the software application is received by the client system automatically when the comparison indicates that the most-updated upgrade package has not been installed on the client system.